By Jeff Chang
In California, charter schools are public schools that do not charge tuition or impose special entrance requirements, but are generally operated on an independent basis from local school systems. Because of the “public” nature of these schools and the fact a number of California’s more than 1300 charter schools participate in CalSTRS or CalPERS, many retirement plan advisors and consultants assume that charter schools are “governmental” for tax code (Code) employee benefit purposes. This characterization isn’t always clear cut, but the consequences of getting it wrong can be substantial.
Continue reading